Democrats Fight For Veterans' Votes

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- War hero, former senator, triple combat amputee, Max Cleland sat on the small stage Friday and told New Hampshire why one veteran is the veteran to vote for.

"Those of us who are veterans of this great country know and love John Kerry for many, many reasons," Cleland told the crowd. "But the best thing we can call him is brother. Why? Because he's been there, done that and gotten a few holes in his T-shirt."

But wait. Kerry is not the only man who's been there, done that and is angling for the Democratic presidential nomination here in New Hampshire. Earlier in the week in Rochester, the head of a Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter explained why a different veteran deserved the veteran vote.

"Wesley Clark has led an army," Brian Hardy told the crowd, "and administered to the health, housing and education needs of hundreds of thousands of military families across the globe."

New Hampshire is the first political battleground on which Kerry, a former Navy lieutenant, has faced off against Clark, a former Army general, fighting for what they both view as a coveted bloc of voters. Clark sat out the Iowa caucuses, ceding the Hawkeye State's military might to Kerry; but he used that time to gain advantage with their counterparts here.

There are 140,000 former soldiers, sailors and Marines in New Hampshire -- though only registered Democrats and independents can cast ballots Tuesday -- and 26 million nationwide. About 30,000 of Granite State veterans who can vote are in the Kerry campaign database; Clark has identified about 60,000 of the same stripe.

Many veterans here say they are delighted to have two of their own in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Veterans as a group, however, are far from lock step when it comes to their political concerns. They have only historically marched in unison in following the Republican Party. But this season, some Democrats think, may be theirs to lure veterans to their side of the presidential ticket. "If your job is to seek Democratic votes from veterans, it's going to be much easier this year than in 2000," said Duke University political scientist Peter Feaver.

Democrats think President Bush may have lost support from veterans when his administration sought to cut access to Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals in its proposed fiscal 2004 budget. Also, House Republicans, on the day before the war in Iraq was launched, put forth a budget proposal that called for $28 billion in cuts from veterans programs over 10 years.

Still, most observers think Bush will be the man to beat for the veteran vote, regardless of which Democrat he goes up against. According to a recent poll of career military personnel by the Military Times, 57 percent of respondents said they voted Republican, 13 percent Democrat, and 18 percent independent. Eleven percent declined to answer.